By Leigh Crews
Group Resistance Training:
Guidelines and Safety Suggestions
Editor's note: This article is the fifth of a five-part series on guidelines and safety suggestions for various group fitness modalities. The genesis for these articles is you, the IDEA member. In our most recent readership survey, 100 percent of respondents said they wanted to see more space in IDEA publications devoted ...

Assessing clients’ posture or alignment can sometimes be overwhelming for both novice and experienced Pilates instructors. Even with all our knowledge of anatomy, kinesiology, movement and injuries, it can be hard to know where to start. A useful approach when assessing movement patterns is to focus on footwork on the reformer. It’s powerful to see the transformation that occurs in clients with each repetition. More important, clients walk away with a better sense of how their bodies move.
10 Tips for 10 Toesnewsletter_teaser: Assessing clients’ posture or alignment can sometimes be overwhelming for both novice and experienced Pilates instructors. Even with all our knowledge of anatomy, kinesiology, movement and injuries, it can be hard to know where to start.

squat jump
In recent years, self myofascial release (SMR) has become a hot topic. As more research comes out, we are learning how fascial restrictions affect and influence movement. Taking group fitness participants through SMR techniques in your warm-up may give them more freedom from joint stress and pain, and their recovery times may improve. newsletter_teaser: Check out this great sample class from the IDEA Online Library. Use this self-myofascial-release routine in your next warm-up.

Many studies have focused on the benefits of listening to music before and during exercise. Now scientists have shifted focus to determine the effects—if any—that motivational music has after exercise.

Have you ever noticed that many veteran group fitness instructors share a hallmark trait—a raspy voice? If left unchecked, vocal exhaustion can lead to permanent damage. This may result in lost wages, a voice to rival Joan Rivers’ and potentially the loss of one’s career.

Your goal as a group fitness leader is to provide consistent, predictable service in each experience you create. However, when circumstances prevent you from being able to appear in your regularly scheduled time slot, responsibility for creating positive experiences falls on substitute teachers, commonly called “subs.” When this occurs, the question arises, “Will the sub teach as well as the regular instructor?” The following tips will help you prepare yourself and your class participants for a positive experience in a non-ideal situation.